Devices and machines that accept coins for payment, such as parking meters and vending machines, are typically unattended and located in public areas. As such, they are sometimes the subject of vandalism, and theft of, for example, either the parking meter itself or the coins used to pay for parking. With respect to parking meters, they generally include a coin chute into which coins are inserted. As the coin passes through the coin chute it may pass an arrangement of one or more sensors, typically inductive coils that can discriminate the value of the coin. When a coin passes through such a coin discriminator comprising discrimination sensors in the meter it travels from the upper portion of the parking meter housing and enters into a coin canister located in a lower vault, which is secured against theft by way of a hardened and locked housing.
Some coin chutes have an anti-pull back device (or assembly) that prevents or impedes coins from being pulled back and out of the coin chute. For example, pulling a coin back and out of the coin chute may be done by using a string fastened to the coin, and then pulling the coin out of the chute after the coin has fallen down the coin chute and been detected by the discrimination sensors. By employing an anti-pull back device, the same coin is prevented from being pulled back up the chute. This in turn prevents the same coin from passing through the discrimination sensors multiple times in order to receive credit for paid parking time without having deposited the required amount of coins. These anti-pull back devices can be found both in the meter, as well as at the entrance to the coin canister located in the lower vault area. The anti-pull back devices may be mechanical and may include a plurality of hinged fingers crossing the coin path. When the coin travels down the coin chute, the fingers may rotate out of the way. However, when the coin is attempted to be retrieved and pulled back up the coin chute, the fingers may be prevented from rotating out of the way.
While anti-pull back devices can prevent or impede pulling back the same coin in order to be counted numerous times, they may not prevent or impede all types of schemes to defraud a parking authority, or the public, of money. For example, a vandal or thief may force a foreign object into the coin chute in order to cause a jam in the coin chute, such as a jam just above the anti-pull back device that is located further down the coin chute. The foreign object may be non-metallic so that it may not be detected by sensors in the coin chute, which results in the parking meter remaining in service. When an unsuspecting customer attempts to make a payment, the inserted coins will remain in the coin chute instead of passing into the coin vault area. The thief or vandal may then attempt to fish out the inserted coins that are still in the coin chute.
An improved, additional or alternative coin chute that can impede the fishing of inserted coins from the coin chute is desirable.